9% Tourism VAT Could Still Be Safe, Says Noonan

The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, has rowed back on previous comments suggesting the lower VAT rate for tourism industries would be scrapped.

Michael Noonan had hinted during a Dáil debate that the 9% levy for the hospitality sector will revert back to 13.5% on January 1, 2014.

However, speaking in Cherrywood yesterday, Minister Noonan stressed that no decision had been made, and praised the initiative as successful.

"There's no Government decision yet or indeed, very little Government discussion.

"We're all aware of the very strong lobby. It as a very successful initiative - it actually created 15,000 jobs," he claimed, "and we're examining what the options are."